


to bright green eyes

by dizzyondreams



Series: from the earth [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Genderqueer Character, M/M, Other, Trans Male Character, Witch AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-22
Updated: 2015-03-22
Packaged: 2018-03-19 04:10:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3595830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dizzyondreams/pseuds/dizzyondreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jean awoke to an unfamiliar ceiling, eyes blurry as sleep still clung to him. There were cracks spreading across it, where little green plants grew through.</p>
            </blockquote>





	to bright green eyes

Jean awoke to an unfamiliar ceiling, eyes blurry as sleep still clung to him. There were cracks spreading across it, where little green plants grew through. The heavy smell of incense hung in the air, and it wasn’t until Jean propped himself up on his elbow and surveyed the room did the events of the previous day swim into his mind. 

The witch: Eren, the big grey wolf and the tiny room down the ladder, full of plants and jars and the smell of soil. He pulled back the covers to take a look at his ankle, disappointed to still find it swollen and sore. It throbbed when he pushed himself to his feet, and he stepped gingerly away from the messy little bed (absent of Eren, he noticed) and toward the huge, age-spotted mirror that leant against the far wall.

He bared his teeth at his reflection, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, tried to muss his hair into some semblance of order as he tugged his clothes straight before stepping away to glance around the room. He couldn’t hear Eren downstairs, only the creaking of the floorboards under his feet as he wandered around the room, sweeping trailing vines out of the way as they brushed across his face.

The room looked different by the warm light of day, with the sunlight streaming through the vines and casting dappled shadows on the floor and the bed. Jean nudged at a couple of well cared for plants, smelt some flowers, poked at what looked like an antler draped with rings and necklaces. They clattered together, the stones bouncing off one another melodically, and for the first time since Jean had been helped over the threshold of this odd little house, he felt comforted. It reminded him of playing with his mother’s jewellery when he was a kid, piling it on as she laughed and handed him more. He rubbed his thumb over the symbols carved into the stones, wondered what they meant.

He sat back down on the bed to watch the swaying dappled light on the floor, and before long he found himself drowsing contentedly, the sunlight warm on his face and turning the world behind his eyelids red. He woke again to the smell of frying bacon and the sound of clattering cutlery, and righted himself hastily; unaware he’d properly fallen asleep.

He made his way down the ladder slowly, careful not to put too much weight on his ankle. At the bottom he turned, hand on the ladder to steady himself, then stopped and stared.

The breakfast was _floating_. Or, rather, it looked like it was being made by a pair of invisible hands. A spatula flipped bacon on the stove, and as Jean watched, an egg lifted itself out of the basket, cracked in mid-air, and fell neatly into a frying pan with a satisfying sizzle. The kettle was boiling, and Jean followed its movements with wide eyes as a mug drifted out of the cupboard and settled down on the worktop, as the kettle, seemingly of its own accord, filled it with hot water.

In the middle of all this strangeness, sat Eren. Hair all over the place, still dressed in the nightshirt they’d worn to bed. Sipping at a cup of tea and poring over a huge leather-bound book, its pages full of intricate little watercolour plants. As Jean stared at them, stunned, they lifted one hand and crooked their finger to prompt a plate to come and hover near the frying bacon. Never once glanced up from their book, just turned a page and kept reading.

Jean felt his eye twitch.

“Eren, what on earth is going on here?”

Eren looked up from their book in surprise, and when they saw Jean their eyes widened. Simultaneously, everything in the kitchen came crashing down. Jean watched in horror as the plate crashed to the floor, along with a couple of eggs and the mug of hot tea that had been making its way to the table.

The spatula bounced off the side, clattering to the floor, and Eren sighed and dropped their forehead to their open book.

“Could’ve given a guy some warning, y’know.” They muttered into the pages, and Jean took a step back from the advancing puddle of tea on the floor from where the mug had fallen. Eren gave him a sharp look as they resurfaced from his book, that feral look back in their eyes. “Now I’ve gotta clean all this up.”

Jean stared. “It’s not my fault you were fucking around levitating shit.” Eren shot him an acidic look.

“You broke my concentration!” They cried, gesturing towards the general state of the kitchen. “I’m still learning!” 

“Not my problem.” Jean said with a yawn, rubbing at his eyes as he stepped over the pool of tea towards the mess on the stove. He flicked the gas off, didn’t miss Eren’s tiny _growl_ as he scooped up the spatula and shot Eren a look over his shoulder. ‘Guess you have a little more to learn.” He muttered, then made a face as he put his bare foot in a puddle of egg white.

They cleaned up the mess together, Eren enlisting Jean’s help since it was apparently his fault since he’d startled them. Jean had grumbled about being an injured man, but accepted his fate as he squeezed in next to Eren in the tiny space between table and counter, wiping egg yolk off the uneven wooden floor.

“Have you ever cleaned this place?” Jean asked as his washcloth came away covered in wet soil and egg. He made a face and plucked a piece of shell off to throw in the compost bin Eren had stashed under the sink.

Eren hummed thoughtfully, not pausing in their task of collecting every last piece of broken china as they said, “I don’t think so. Not in a while anyway.” They shot Jean a wolfish grin that Jean felt like a hot flush all the way down to his toes. “It messes with the magical mojo of the place.”

“What- is that true?” Jean asked, leaning back against the counter to look Eren right in the eyes. Eren managed to hold their serious expression for a minute before they let their head drop forward with a laugh.

“Nah,” They said. “I’m just too lazy to move all the plants outside then back in.” They took a glance around the cluttered kitchen. “Never been brave enough to tackle this place.”

Jean grunted and picked at a bit of yolk that had dried to the floor. “It’s incredible that you’ve managed to create this much clutter in such a short amount of time.” He said, shooting Eren a sidelong glance. They were staring down at the broken plate in their hands, expression blank, but as they realised Jean was staring they smiled and rolled their eyes.

“It’s a talent.” They said, leaning into Jean’s side a little. They were very warm, and one of their braids tickled the side of his neck. Jean felt his heart swell a little, a little bubble of attraction in his chest as he looked at Eren.

“Let’s finish this up and we can re-start breakfast and I can have another look at your ankle.” Eren said, business-like, rising to their feet and offering a hand to Jean to help him up.

Jean took it, liking the feel of calluses against his skin.

\-------

Jean cleared a space at the cluttered table as he watched Eren flip the bacon, holding the spatula at arms length to avoid the oil spitting at them.  
“Where’d you get the food?” He asked, since Eren didn’t have a fridge, and he hadn’t heard any chickens yesterday, let alone any _pigs_.

“Bought it in town.” Eren said, flicking the gas off and sliding the bacon onto a plate, along with an egg, and putting it down in front of Jean. They shot Jean a curious look at his raised eyebrows and dropped the dirty pans in the sink. “What?” They asked, sliding onto the bench opposite Jean and pulling the loaf of bread towards them. A lone egg sat on their plate, and Jean eyed it curiously. He had too many questions.

“You go into town?”

Eren didn’t look up from their piece of bread, just shrugged and said, “Yeah, and?”

“Well,” Jean tried not to be blunt, but that had never been his strong suit. “It’s just that, well, you’re kinda…different.” He made a vague gesture towards Eren, their wild hair, their nightshirt, the fact that Jean had walked in on them doing actual _magic_ not forty minutes ago. Eren just stared at him blankly. “I imagine you get some looks.” Jean said, giving up. Eren’s mouth twitched.

“You’d be right.” They said, sliding their egg onto their bread and splitting it with a fork of dubious cleanliness. “But some things I need I can’t make, or grow.” They gestured towards the stove. “Gas, for example. Candles, fabric for clothes, minor things.” They shrugged. “I don’t eat meat, so that’s not a problem.” They gave Jean an excited little smile. “I’m actually planning on building a chicken coop soon, but I need some more books on chickens.”

“Sounds exciting.” Jean mumbled through a mouthful of bacon, and looked away with a blush when Eren shot him a sunny smile. “So like,” He cast around for a topic to take the attention off his burning cheeks. “You built this place? Found it?” He pushed his bacon around in his egg yolk as he looked around the room. “Where’d you even get half this stuff from.”

“I’ve always lived here.” Eren said carefully, and when Jean looked up they were seemingly engrossed in their plate of food.

“What d’you mean you’ve always lived here?” Jean asked. Sure, he couldn’t imagine this kid living in the city, going to school every day and getting the train to see friends, but their entire life? “You mean since you moved out from your parents place, right?”

Eren shot him an unreadable look, eyes roving over his face before they gave him a little half-smile and said, “Yeah, sure.” They didn’t give Jean time to contest this before they were barrelling on. “How about you? Do you live alone?”

Jean stared at them for a minute, but their bright, open expression didn’t change so he sighed and let the subject change. “Uh, I live in a flat with a couple of friends. I’m in my third year at uni right now,” He glanced at his watch and groaned. “Missing a lecture as we speak, actually.”

“Uni.” Eren parroted, then glanced up curiously. “What’s that?”

Jean stared at them in disbelief. “Uh, you’re not? You- How old are you?” He stuttered.

Eren cocked their head to the side. “How old are _you?_ ” They countered, expression still curious.

“I’m twenty-one.” Jean said stupidly. He was beginning to realise there was a lot more to Eren than met the eye, and that they were a little cagey about what they wanted to talk about.

Eren sat back with a grin. “I’m twenty,” They said, then, “If you’re done with breakfast, I could take a look at your ankle and you could help me with the vegetable patch?” Their expression seemed friendly enough, but their tight grip on their fork signalled to Jean that the conversation was _over_.  
Wordlessly, he pushed his plate towards them and watched as they sent it to the sink with a flick of their wrist and a grin shot his way that made the back of Jean’s neck prickle.

\-----

He stayed with Eren for another three days until his ankle was good enough for the trek out of the forest. Eren had explained how deep in the forest they lived, and Jean just took it at face value, switched his phone off and threw himself into trying to learn as much about Eren as possible.

They woke early in the mornings, slipping so soundlessly out of the room that Jean never heard them leave. They always left the kitchen a mess, like their ability to levitate plates to the sink somehow made up for the fact that they never cleaned them. Jean normally washed them as he waited for Eren to return from whatever the hell they did in the mornings.

They’d come back covered in scratches from brambles, muddy knees and wild hair and that wolf trailing along on their heels. The wolf never came in when Jean was there, just paced around restlessly before slinking back into the trees, no matter how much Eren tried to convince it to come meet Jean. Truthfully, Jean would rather not ‘meet’ Eren’s huge wolf, but never told them in case it offended them.

They ate together every night, always some kind of stew, the vegetables picked from Eren’s garden. Afterward, Eren would pour over their books while Jean watched the woods through the windows. Nights were always quiet, no trace of the usual traffic noise that Jean was used to falling asleep to. Just the sound of the trees rustling, Eren’s cauldron bubbling on its little gas-powered burner, an occasional owl. 

They still slept in Eren’s big, soft bed together, Jean piling blankets between them to keep himself from spooning Eren in his sleep, or something equally embarrassing.

“I think my ankle’s better.” Jean said absently, flicking through a book on poisonous mushrooms while Eren fiddled with a jar of something gross that Jean didn’t want to make eye contact with. Eren made a small sound of affirmation.

“Looks that way.” They murmured, spooning whatever they had bottled up into their mortar. It made a hissing noise as it came into contact with the crushed herbs inside, and a thin curl of white smoke drifted upwards. Eren wrinkled their nose. 

“I should probably get back home, if that’s the case.” Jean said, watching them closely. Apart from a small furrowing of their eyebrows, they didn’t react, and Jean found himself feeling a little disappointed. “My flatmates are probably already worried.” 

“I can lead you out tomorrow morning.” Eren said distractedly. A strand of hair fell into their eyes, come loose from their bun, and they blew it away irritably. “Wait, one sec.” They dumped the contents of the mortar into the cauldron by their elbow, gave it a stir, then sat back in their seat. The cauldron bubbled softly, and Eren pushed a couple strands of hair back off their face. “I can take you after my morning forage.” They said, pulling a little black book towards them.

“Sounds good.” Jean said awkwardly. What was he supposed to say to someone who’d looked after him and fed him for three days while he’d hobbled around and asked too many questions? Thank you? “Uh, listen-”

Eren cut him off with a wave of their hand, before propping their chin in their hand and regarding Jean shrewdly. “I’m never gonna see you again, after this, will I?”

Jean opened his mouth, shut it again. The gas stove was hissing a little, and Jean marked his place in the book he was reading and flipped it shut. “Do you want me to?”

The silence dragged, and Eren’s eyes seemed to glow through the candlelit darkness, unreadable. Then they sighed and turned their gaze to the table top, brushed a stray piece of dried herb away. Jean had felt frozen in their gaze, like a rabbit in the headlights, and shifted in his seat when Eren looked down.

“I’d like that.” They said, shooting Jean a grin and leaning forward over the table a little towards Jean, necklaces swinging forward, flashing in the light. “It’d be weird if we didn’t, I mean.” They amended, sitting back in their chair and crossing their arms. Jean felt himself smiling and looked away before Eren could catch him.

“Alright, it’s a deal.” He said, going back to his book. He glanced up to see Eren’s expression, and caught him looking, a soft half-smile on his face. When he caught Jean’s eye he glanced away quickly, furrowing his brows at his book as if he was deep in concentration.

Jean went back to reading about poisonous mushrooms, a warm feeling in his stomach.

\------------

Eren walked Jean to the entrance of the forest the next morning, their footsteps muffled in the long, dew-wet grass. Jean’s shoes were soaked through by the time they stopped, and Eren’s bare feet looked cold and pink.

“Are you cold?” Jean asked, toying with the strap of his backpack as he looked down at Eren. They were wearing a simple cotton dress, a lumpy black cardigan that looked hand knitted thrown over the top. They crossed their arms and shrugged, rocked back on their heels as they glanced towards the path out.

“Not really.” They muttered, then looked at the ground. “I have something for you.” They said brusquely, digging their hands into the pockets of their cardigan and drawing something out. 

“Eren…” Jean murmured, holding his hands out as Eren dropped a necklace into his open palms.

“It’s got a rune on it,” Eren said, pointing at the face of a rounded green stone that was strung on a length of cord. “For good luck, protection, all that stuff.” 

“Thank you.” Jean said quietly, tying it around his neck so the stone fell just in the centre of his chest. He touched it, rubbed the pad of his thumb over the rune. “It’s like yours.” He pointed out, closing his fist around the stone until it warmed to the heat of his body.

Eren fingered their necklaces absently. “Yeah, I make them and cast a spell of whatever, protection, happiness, on them.” They shot Jean a guarded look. “They work.”

“Thank you.” Jean said again, and Eren gave him one of their wolfish little grins and drew themself up a little. “I’ll wear it.” Jean promised, and Eren’s grin widened.

“Good.” They said, then shuffled their feet a little. “Well, I’ve gotta get back. Left a potion on the stove, don’t want it to go bad.” They shrugged and glanced away, then looked back almost immediately. “You’re gonna come back to visit?” They asked carefully.

Jean looked at them, wondering again if they got lonely in this big forest. He nodded. “Yeah, of course. I’ll come by next Friday?” He glanced at his watch. “Exactly a week.”

“I’ll be here.” Eren said, taking a little step back, fiddling with the drawstring waist of their dress. “Bye, Jean.” They way their accent curled around his name made Jean’s stomach tighten, and he just held a hand up in goodbye before stepping away from the witch.

He stopped at the entrance of the woods, the sounds of people and cars and civilisation filling his ears, and looked back. Eren was gone, and for a moment Jean wondered if he’d hallucinated the past three days, but the weight of the stone against his chest told him it was all too real.

With the smell of incense clinging to his clothes, Jean walked back onto the street, beginning the familiar route home.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed..! everything else from this au won't carry on chronologically from this point, just a heads up!
> 
> the stone eren gives jean is jade, good for soothing the mind and body as well as preventing illness. it's also a stone for new love!
> 
> also my tumblr is girlshinji if u wanna keep up w/ fic updates ALSO i sometimes reblog insp pics to there for this au sooo


End file.
